Epik High is one of my favorite groups, so I'm really getting a kick...

Anyway, yeah, this kind of thing isn't all that uncommon in Korea. The obsessiveness is to the point of ridiculousness when it comes to celebrities. Fans and 'antis' get real crazy and the internet is a lovely place for the obsessed to encourage each other's obsessions.

beta_plus:So Truthers, Birthers, Warmers, and Bush Derangement Syndrome Sufferers aren't just an American thing? Learn a new thing everyday.

It's a very real thing around the world.

"We sometimes find ourselves changing our minds without any resistance or heavy emotion, but if we are told that we are wrong we resent the imputation and harden our hearts. We are incredibly heedless in the formation of our beliefs, but find ourselves filled with an illicit passion for them when anyone proposes to rob us of their companionship. It is obviously not the ideas themselves that are dear to us, but our self-esteem, which is threatened. ... Few of us take the pains to study the origin of our cherished convictions; indeed, we have a natural repugnance to so doing. We like to continue to believe what we have been accustomed to accept as true, and the resentment aroused when doubt is cast upon any of our assumptions leads us to seek every manner of excuse for clinging to them. The result is that most of our so-called reasoning consists in finding arguments for going on believing as we already do."- James Harvey Robinson

Another Dan Lee, who like the rapper had graduated from Stanford in 2002, was soon besieged. "One day I started getting random messages from people in Korea who were abusively angry at me for allowing some rapper to steal my identity," says this Dan Lee, who works at a product-design firm in Wisconsin. "I had no idea what they were talking about."

(Pardon the misuse of the phrase but) this story really begs the question, was part of the hate towards this guy due to the fact that he gained fame as a rap artist? Perhaps that is a little too american, particularly african american, for the haters to stomach.

nmiguy:I didn't read the whole thing, it was kinda long. Why did stalkers ruin this kid?

His totally-not-envious older cousin makes some on-line comments that Lee didn't deserve to get the glowing recommendations he did from his high school teachers, and shouldn't have been admitted to Stanford.

A random Korean dad with two daughters at John Hopkins, who probably remembers the work his children did to get into medical school, reads the cousin's rants and assumes that this slacker rapper he sees on TV couldn't possibly be a genius that exceeded his daughters' scholastic skill, and must therefore be lying.

rwfan:(Pardon the misuse of the phrase but) this story really begs the question, was part of the hate towards this guy due to the fact that he gained fame as a rap artist? Perhaps that is a little too american, particularly african american, for the haters to stomach.

Based on a previous article from a couple of days ago, I would say no. K-pop appears to draw heavily on various western pop genres.

In July 2011, after writing the article for Stanford Magazine, I flew to South Korea to track down some of the online persecutors-and to see how Lee was faring. He was no longer performing or recording and now rarely left his apartment, in a working-class neighborhood of Seoul. He had become a hermit at age 30.

I arrived in Seoul within days of the online release of my article. It emphasized the fact that Stanford had clearly confirmed Lee's academic record and professors had vouched for him. There could be no doubt that he had attended the university and graduated exactly as he claimed. The evidence, it seemed to me, left no room for argument.

I was wrong. While in Seoul, I was barraged by outraged emails from readers who remained convinced that Lee's diploma must somehow be a forgery. They sent detailed treatises noting how the positioning of commas and conjunctions on the document raised suspicions. If I refused to see that, many claimed, I must be part of the conspiracy. "You made a big stinky shiat with your name tagged on it," one man emailed me.

rwfan:(Pardon the misuse of the phrase but) this story really begs the question, was part of the hate towards this guy due to the fact that he gained fame as a rap artist? Perhaps that is a little too american, particularly african american, for the haters to stomach.

Not really. Stylistically rap in Korea refers strictly to the quick 'singing' style. It doesn't hold the negative, or self centered theme that american pop and rap holds.Epik High is one of the less controversial groups in Korea. Topics are not sexual or violent. Often highlighting legitimate social issues that should be addresses like suicide (look for there song One), social abandonment of the disabled (Run), and monsters that eat your girlfriend (Wannabe).

So the repugnant little shiat that set his cousin's career death spiral into motion is a bitter patent worker that lives in NorCal.

Sounds about right.

I second Mangoose's motion to send repugnant little shiat's statements to all of his clients. With how easy it was for him to attempt to sell out his own cousin, his clients probably have a snowball's chance in hell.

KatjaMouse:rudemix: The real question I have to ask after reading this story is where do we go to ruin the hater cousin's life?

I guess the American equivalent (since he lives in California) would be that someone plants a bunch of child porn on him and make sure that an illegal, prone to breaking the law, alien use his name as an alias anytime he gets picked up by the cops.

In case anybody needs additional incentive to throw the guy under a bus:

"One more thing, Ms. Simmons. Great people of east Asia don't need you. We will own this century, and the next, and the next, until all non-Asians are essentially pounded to submission ... Of course, it is the mission of thought leaders like myself who will propel what will be united Korea in the meantime."

/wonderfully written article about a subject I really shouldn't care about but now do

I like the guy who took $10,000 to say he never saw this kid at Stanford. He didn't see a kid in a different graduating class, in a population of 15,000 students. He gave them a rational explanation and avenue to back out but then, rightly, he took the money. Because, hey, free money.

While we're cutting checks, I will stipulate that I've never seen Dan Lee in my entire life, /anywhere/. I'll even testify to it in a court of law. "Nope, I've never seen that guy before in my life".

Cubicle Jockey:". We will own this century, and the next, and the next, until all non-Asians are essentially pounded to submission "

Careful what you wish for buddy, you may end up playing the part of Poland between the two bigger powers.

I found that claim pretty hilarious given the majority of Korea's history, and how big a part of China's foreign policy keeping Korea divided is. To no one's surprise, racists are crazy no matter where they come from.

xrayspx:I like the guy who took $10,000 to say he never saw this kid at Stanford. He didn't see a kid in a different graduating class, in a population of 15,000 students. He gave them a rational explanation and avenue to back out but then, rightly, he took the money. Because, hey, free money.

While we're cutting checks, I will stipulate that I've never seen Dan Lee in my entire life, /anywhere/. I'll even testify to it in a court of law. "Nope, I've never seen that guy before in my life".

That's what's so funny. Lee's cousin, Cho, said that the only reason that Lee got into Stanford was because of Cho's great reputation on campus, in addition to "stealing" his idea for the admissions essay.

It's like they think Stanford only has a few hundred students instead of 15,000 undergrad and grad students.

it seems odd that when I google Seungmin Cho, patent consultant, The phrase "Great people of east Asia don't need you. We will own this century, and the next, and the next, until all non-Asians are essentially pounded to submission" doesn't immediately accompany it. That seems odd to me. You would think when you google Seungmin Cho the phrase "Great people of east Asia don't need you. We will own this century, and the next, and the next, until all non-Asians are essentially pounded to submission" would be the first thing that popped up.

Try it yourself. Search Seungmin Cho, patent consultant, and see if the phrase "Great people of east Asia don't need you. We will own this century, and the next, and the next, until all non-Asians are essentially pounded to submission" pops up.

Dr.Zom:it seems odd that when I google Seungmin Cho, patent consultant, The phrase "Great people of east Asia don't need you. We will own this century, and the next, and the next, until all non-Asians are essentially pounded to submission" doesn't immediately accompany it. That seems odd to me. You would think when you google Seungmin Cho the phrase "Great people of east Asia don't need you. We will own this century, and the next, and the next, until all non-Asians are essentially pounded to submission" would be the first thing that popped up.

Try it yourself. Search Seungmin Cho, patent consultant, and see if the phrase "Great people of east Asia don't need you. We will own this century, and the next, and the next, until all non-Asians are essentially pounded to submission" pops up.

Dr.Zom:it seems odd that when I google Seungmin Cho, patent consultant, The phrase "Great people of east Asia don't need you. We will own this century, and the next, and the next, until all non-Asians are essentially pounded to submission" doesn't immediately accompany it. That seems odd to me. You would think when you google Seungmin Cho the phrase "Great people of east Asia don't need you. We will own this century, and the next, and the next, until all non-Asians are essentially pounded to submission" would be the first thing that popped up.

Try it yourself. Search Seungmin Cho, patent consultant, and see if the phrase "Great people of east Asia don't need you. We will own this century, and the next, and the next, until all non-Asians are essentially pounded to submission" pops up.

So you read on the internets that Seungmin Cho, patent consultant, said that and immediately began witch-hunt

LewDux:Dr.Zom: it seems odd that when I google Seungmin Cho, patent consultant, The phrase "Great people of east Asia don't need you. We will own this century, and the next, and the next, until all non-Asians are essentially pounded to submission" doesn't immediately accompany it. That seems odd to me. You would think when you google Seungmin Cho the phrase "Great people of east Asia don't need you. We will own this century, and the next, and the next, until all non-Asians are essentially pounded to submission" would be the first thing that popped up.

Try it yourself. Search Seungmin Cho, patent consultant, and see if the phrase "Great people of east Asia don't need you. We will own this century, and the next, and the next, until all non-Asians are essentially pounded to submission" pops up.

So you read on the internets that Seungmin Cho, patent consultant, said that and immediately began witch-hunt

nmiguy:I didn't read the whole thing, it was kinda long. Why did stalkers ruin this kid?

Because people like to believe conspiracies, because his patent-attorney cousin was jealous of his success, and because some random Korean father of two John-Hopkins graduate daughters living in Chicago decided to aggressively promote and inflate the cousin's envy-driven libels.

I'd imagine there are also deeper sociological reasons specific to Korea that laid made something like this happening there likely(like how high-pressure their education system, how many burn-outs and "losers" it produces, and how those factors have created a population there both willing to believe that "the game is rigged" in favor of a certain class, and that cheating is as much an issue of social inequality as of personal moral turpitude), but that'd be pretty speculative, and I think you're asking more about immediate causes anyway.

caddisfly:Dr.Zom: it seems odd that when I google Seungmin Cho, patent consultant, The phrase "Great people of east Asia don't need you. We will own this century, and the next, and the next, until all non-Asians are essentially pounded to submission" doesn't immediately accompany it. That seems odd to me. You would think when you google Seungmin Cho the phrase "Great people of east Asia don't need you. We will own this century, and the next, and the next, until all non-Asians are essentially pounded to submission" would be the first thing that popped up.

Try it yourself. Search Seungmin Cho, patent consultant, and see if the phrase "Great people of east Asia don't need you. We will own this century, and the next, and the next, until all non-Asians are essentially pounded to submission" pops up.

Here's his website:

http://www.inventcapture.com/id3.html Link

Wonder why he's still hanging around the States? Maybe to pound whitey into submission mano-a-mano?

I'm getting the distinct feeling someone's personal site is about to get Farked (or Wanged, for you Penny Arcade fans out there).

Heron:nmiguy: I didn't read the whole thing, it was kinda long. Why did stalkers ruin this kid?

Because people like to believe conspiracies, because his patent-attorney cousin was jealous of his success, and because some random Korean father of two John-Hopkins graduate daughters living in Chicago decided to aggressively promote and inflate the cousin's envy-driven libels.

I'd imagine there are also deeper sociological reasons specific to Korea that laid made something like this happening there likely(like how high-pressure their education system, how many burn-outs and "losers" it produces, and how those factors have created a population there both willing to believe that "the game is rigged" in favor of a certain class, and that cheating is as much an issue of social inequality as of personal moral turpitude), but that'd be pretty speculative, and I think you're asking more about immediate causes anyway.

Well it is done; the first non-ad google link is currently to this Wired story. I'm sure that will do nothing but impress prospective clients. Like Gabe said to the ad-man "Once it got to the internet, it was already out of my hands."

TheBlackrose:So the repugnant little shiat that set his cousin's career death spiral into motion is a bitter patent worker that lives in NorCal.

Sounds about right.

I second Mangoose's motion to send repugnant little shiat's statements to all of his clients. With how easy it was for him to attempt to sell out his own cousin, his clients probably have a snowball's chance in hell.

/Hope he wins those defamation lawsuits.

People keep condemning the cousin, who is by all means a detestable cockbag, but the real bad guy here is the 56-year-old tiger dad in Chicago. The cousin just hated him, while EUNGSUK KIM OF CHICAGO, IL is the mastermind behind TaJinYo (the forum that was created for the purpose of destroying this kid.)

It would sure be awful if a group of internetly-minded people were to take an interest in EUNGSUK KIM OF CHICAGO, IL.

LewDux:Dr.Zom: it seems odd that when I google Seungmin Cho, patent consultant, The phrase "Great people of east Asia don't need you. We will own this century, and the next, and the next, until all non-Asians are essentially pounded to submission" doesn't immediately accompany it. That seems odd to me. You would think when you google Seungmin Cho the phrase "Great people of east Asia don't need you. We will own this century, and the next, and the next, until all non-Asians are essentially pounded to submission" would be the first thing that popped up.

Try it yourself. Search Seungmin Cho, patent consultant, and see if the phrase "Great people of east Asia don't need you. We will own this century, and the next, and the next, until all non-Asians are essentially pounded to submission" pops up.

So you read on the internets that Seungmin Cho, patent consultant, said that and immediately began witch-hunt

Do you mean to say that I read on the internet that Seungmin Cho, patent consultant, said "Great people of east Asia don't need you. We will own this century, and the next, and the next, until all non-Asians are essentially pounded to submission" and then started a witch hunt like the one Seungmin Cho, patent consultant, inflicted on his cousin?

I would say two posts do not constitute a witch hunt. And if Seungmin Cho, patent consultant, were to be subject to such a thing it would undoubtedly be called a biatch hunt.

Reminds? It is the birther movement man. Switch out a rapper with Obama and a diploma with a birth certificate and you have the precise same phenomenon. Hell, they're even analyzing punctuation and comma placement for farks sakes.

Thunderboy:TheBlackrose: So the repugnant little shiat that set his cousin's career death spiral into motion is a bitter patent worker that lives in NorCal.

Sounds about right.

I second Mangoose's motion to send repugnant little shiat's statements to all of his clients. With how easy it was for him to attempt to sell out his own cousin, his clients probably have a snowball's chance in hell.

/Hope he wins those defamation lawsuits.

People keep condemning the cousin, who is by all means a detestable cockbag, but the real bad guy here is the 56-year-old tiger dad in Chicago. The cousin just hated him, while EUNGSUK KIM OF CHICAGO, IL is the mastermind behind TaJinYo (the forum that was created for the purpose of destroying this kid.)

It would sure be awful if a group of internetly-minded people were to take an interest in EUNGSUK KIM OF CHICAGO, IL.

Actually, I went searching for a bit of information on him. Apparently he went out in a manner akin to Orly Taitz. Cut ties to Korea and tried getting out of Chicago while selling off the forum.